One of the things that I admire most about marketing is the amount of power that it possesses to influence people. I spent some time during my second term to research more about Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign. It was very successful. The campaign was executed very well and was able to achieve the intended goal of increasing awareness of the company’s products, as well as, sending a strong social message to the consumers.
Beyond just promoting a company’s products, I think that marketing is a very useful and influential tool in communicating social values to the community. With the Dove campaign,it featured ordinary women. I think that the company was able to tell its consumers that, everyone is beautiful, regardless of your body type or size. Dove, a beauty product company, was able to address the issue of self-confidence in people regarding their body image. Many people believe that they have to look a certain way, or be a certain size in order to be “beautiful”, but Dove captured the natural beauty of ordinary people and informed the public that beauty goes beyond skin deep and it is important for people to see this, and have confidence in themselves.
And beyond North America, I was aware of a marketing initiative in Africa. Because of the high percentage of the population being HIV positive, the government decided to undertake a scheme that would be able to increase the awareness of HIV positive, while debunking any traditional views on the topic (i.e. people thought that they could get rid of aids by sleeping with more people, which in turn increased those with AIDS). The scheme was simple and followed the alphabet ABC: A – Abstain, B – Be faithful, C – Condomise. Governments had billboards up, educational workshops for the population, and handed out condoms to the public for use. The initiative was also very successful, decreasing the rates of AIDS in several countries in Africa.
I see the value in marketing and the great things that can be achieved when used properly. I look forward to learning more about these strategies to create social values in the community!